Making a New Character

Updated: Feb 2, 2019

Creating a new Millenimal is a little bit carefully planned and a little bit not. They all began in these really organized lists. Just their names. When I started, I was ticking one after another off as I went. But now I kind of jump around all the lists, picking and choosing which name will be created based on what my storyline needs or what events are coming up soon that I don’t want to miss the photo opportunity at.

I pick the name off a list and think about what I want this one to look like, which always kind of starts with colors in my head. So, I pick the colors, buy the yarn, and start making the body shapes. I have a vague notion of what the pose might look like. But as I am making each piece that will become their head and body, they kind of take on a life of their own and the vision changes. I don’t stick to specific character designs or anything in my head or on paper; it’s all sort of whatever happens with the yarn. Probably the most successful are the ones that came with some weird snafu in creation because they required a little extra help to incorporate the error. And ----- like human beings ------ these end up being the best ones: the ones that have mistakes, beautiful beautiful mistakes.

I will sometimes refer to patterns I have already created and borrow bits and pieces from them to fit the new character because that’s a good place to start. No point in reinventing the wheel again. Right now, I’m building a character who will be a horse. She has aspects to her that are similar to Moostache because they are both tall hoofed creatures. Though, all of the characters have one body part made that’s uniquely theirs. Something that makes them, them. A face shape, a body build, or a color change the others don’t have. That’s what makes them special, I think. That they are so wonderfully different and still similar enough to look like family.

I like them to have really different body types. Like Moostache being quite tall and thin and Beerver being kind of short and stocky. I think this variation also reflects the millennial mantra of body acceptance that I love so much.

But they take on their own forms under my hands and they come together really organically, with almost no plan whatsoever. But they make it work and make it their own, in true millennial fashion.